ATTENTION EVERY MAN, WOMAN, CHILD AND COMEDIAN LOOKING FOR A CHEAP LOL:
Cracking jokes about tampons is not only smutty and juvenile, but worryingly careless.
Didn’t watch The Project last night? OK, allow me to digress.
Subbing in for Waleed Aly and Carrie Bickmore – yes, the same Carrie Bickmore who tersely urged opposition health spokesperson Catherine King to scrap the tax on The Project just three weeks ago – Rove McManus and Joe Hildebrand joined Gorgi Coghlan and Peter Helliar for what started off as just another night on Ten’s primetime news and current affairs program.
That was until these four panellists managed to offend the entire Australian female population in less than three minutes – a feat long-reserved for the likes of Mark Latham and Tony Abbott.
The offensive comments kicked off after Gorgi introduced two brothers from Brisbane, Josh and Chris Barry, who have taken it upon themselves to sell tax-free tampons through their business, Barry Bros in a bid to wage a war against Australia’s tampon tax.
Brisbane’s Josh and Chris Barry of Barry Bros are doing a solid for the women of Australia. These two men were brought on national television to be applauded for their work, not ridiculed.
^^Barry Bros = Legends.
In what was supposed to be a piece about Australian spirit, throwing political wrongs to the wind and copping one on the chin to help another few million country(wo)men out, the segment quickly turned into one almighty piss-taking.
STRIKE 1: Gorgi makes the first, albeit, subtle tampon pun, asking Josh and Chris how they were going to “absorb” (drawn-out emphasis on this two-syllable word) the 10 per cent cost of each sanitary item sold within their store.
STRIKE 2: Pete then asks the brothers if they are just “winging it”, or do they believe other businesses would catch on.
STRIKE 3: Joe Hilderbrand conveniently chimes in, telling the brothers that they’re “really giving this a good plug”.
He then goes on to apologise for said-grubby pun, before asking: “Is this a permanent offer or is it just for a limited period?”
THE (AWFUL) REST:
Rove couldn’t RESIST missing out on all the fun, jumping in with: “There’s [sic] no strings attached, is there?”
Pete goes on: “Sorry, these guys are just trying to pad things out…”
YES, THIS REALLY HAPPENED. AND YES, WE’RE DISGUSTED.
Rove and co., perhaps before you take it upon yourselves to conjure up an insulting comedic skit about a societal issue that’s larger than your media careers, I suggest you do your research:
In Australia, 500,000 women have experienced homelessness in their lifetime and many can’t afford “luxury” sanitary items.
This statistic, derived from research conducted by Melbourne’s RMIT University, highlights the growing number of Australian women sleeping rough in cars, on other people’s couches, in empty buildings and on the streets.
Of these women, many can’t afford “luxury” items like tampons and pads, and are forced to clean themselves in public toilets, or use paper towels or newspapers to create makeshift sanitary pads, when they have their period.
As charity Share The Dignity states: “Sanitary items should be a RIGHT not a privilege, and no woman should have to suffer the indignity of going without sanitary items at a time when she needs it most.”
Well, no woman should also ever have to face the indignity of having their womanhood, and one of the controversial expenses that come with being a woman, mocked – not by you, Rove, Peter, Joe and Gorgi.
Not by anyone.
To donate money or sanitary items to those in need, visit Share The Dignity‘s website.
